This interview and lesson was originally published in 2006.
In 1986, Racer X made their recording debut, Street Lethal, an album featuring the impossibly dexterous string-skipping and razor-sharp speed
This interview and lesson was originally published in 2006.
In 1986, Racer X made their recording debut, Street Lethal, an album featuring the impossibly dexterous string-skipping and razor-sharp speed picking of guitarist Paul Gilbert. In a matter of months, the band’s chopsy, often humorous performances made them a sensation in Los Angeles clubs. The exposure eventually led to Gilbert’s pairing, in 1988, with former David Lee Roth bassist Billy Sheehan in Mr. Big. Over the next decade, the two balanced pop-rock songcraft with single-string feats of strength on songs like “Addicted to That Rush,” “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind,” and the #1 single “To Be With You.”
Since leaving Mr. Big in 1998, Gilbert has waxed a handful of solo albums but oddly they’ve emphasized his vocals and roots-rock influences more than his guitar antics—even though he ranks right alongside Yngwie, Vai and Satch in the shred pantheon.
It’s only now, with his exciting new album, Get Out of My Yard, that he’s released an entirely instrumental record.
Why did he wait so long?
“I don’t really like instrumental guitar music,” Gilbert admits, “and I rarely listen to it. I liked ‘Satch Boogie’ and the instrumentals Rush did, but players who gave up on being in bands to focus on guitar didn’t interest me as a fan. I like my guitar players with singers: Eddie Van Halen with David Lee Roth, Randy Rhoads with Ozzy, Jimmy Page with Robert Plant. So when I became a solo artist, I wanted to be a singer, too—still have intense guitar, but in the context of a band.
“At the same time,” he continues, “because I am a guitar player, I have ideas that don’t necessarily fit the format of ‘vocal’ music. So I figured